Album review: 'Facade'

I have a deep appreciation for artists who deliver their message couched in the lyrical trick of metaphor and double entendre. Now, Rochester musician Ed Iseley is one of those straightforward types who states the not-so-obvious as if it were. "A problem's only big when it's mine," he sings with his warm, reedy voice on "The Pace," the fourth cut on his fresh new album, "Facade."

Iseley spends most of "Facade" strapped to an acoustic guitar, which keeps the music from getting away from him volume-wise. But he doesn't cop out to just strumming up and down like a dying locomotive, and instead builds his songs atop a rhythmic hook or beat. The energy sneaks up on you and pounces due to Iseley's pervading cool. The cat kind of reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot

The whole album is a mellow strain despite its overall driving quality. I mean the tune "We'll Get By" is built around an inverted Bo Diddley beat. It's got a killer harp solo in there, too. It stacks up so nice.